


Eyes Stitched Closed

by CrowCircle



Category: Persona 5
Genre: M/M, Stalking, Voyeurism, no beta we die like Glenn, no powers au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:47:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24206932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrowCircle/pseuds/CrowCircle
Summary: As famous as he is, movie star Goro Akechi still has needs. For some reason, the nobody from nowhere Akira Kurusu seems to fit all of them. It seems too good to be fate.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira
Comments: 6
Kudos: 80





	Eyes Stitched Closed

Dark eyes and the curve of a sly smile would be the end of him. 

Or at least, that was the helpless thought that ran through Akechi’s brain every time he caught sight of an attractive fan vying for his attention in the crowds. As he was dazzlingly beautiful and extraordinarily famous, it was normal for people to stare at him—he only stared back when he found himself more frustrated than usual. Alas, the man with the dark hair and darker smile would be left with only a brief, sultry once-over from Akechi; he was on his way to the airport, and back to Japan. Not that anybody would have made it through his security, anyway—and not that he could have invited him somewhere private if he had. 

God, he needed to get laid. 

Akechi heaved a sigh, and resigned himself to dozing through the following drive and flight, only somewhat conscious and he listened to loud directions from Sakamoto—his bleached blond head of security—and next thing he knew, he was shaken awake quite suddenly. 

“Yo, boss-man. We’re about an hour out from Tokyo.”

Sakamoto dropped onto the couch next to him, linking his fingers behind his head. Akechi gave a reproachful glare from the side, but held his tongue from snapping at the rude awakening.

“Finally,” he sighed instead. 

“Dude, you’re tellin’ me. If I have to hear one more conversation in French I’m gonna jump off the Eiffel Tower.”

“Paris is one of the culture capitals of the world—was it really that boring?” Akechi asked, just to be contrary. 

“Not boring, just not home. A week is fine, a month is a drag,” Sakamoto frowned, eyes closed. “Anyway, transport is lined up to go straight to your building once we touch down. Mishima says your schedule is free for three days—lucky you.”

 _A thousand blessings to my manager,_ Akechi thought, sighing with relief. 

“Looks like I’ve got a three-day nap planned, then,” he smiled. 

“Yeah,” Sakamoto said, his tone odd. 

Akechi looked over, eyebrow raised. 

Sakamoto was silent for a moment before words began spilling from him so quickly that it was hard to keep up. 

“So, well, I know you need some good rest cause I’ve seen how busy you are while I’m workin’ and all, but I was thinkin’—well, wonderin’ really—“

“Sakamoto, if you would just tell me what favor you’d like, I would be more open to considering it,” Akechi interrupted, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. 

“Well it’s not even a favor really—“ he paused at the nonplussed look from Akechi, and took a moment to start over. “Okay, so here’s the deal. One of my good friends, Ann—you know, the model? Takamaki? Well, so she’s havin’ a party. Not like one of those huge parties at the club, but like a smaller, chill party.”

“And you want me to attend because…?”

Sakamoto took a deep breath, then turned to face Akechi. 

“Ann is a doll, and she deserves the world. She really helped me out through some hard times, and I can vouch for her. She’s the real deal, skilled and just a genuinely good person.” Sakamoto paused, a sudden shadow of worry crossing his face. “Hey, don’t tell her I’m tellin’ you this, okay? She’d have a field day and never let it go.”

“What, that you’re saying nice things?” Akechi chuckled.

“Hey, I got an image to maintain, okay? Anyway. She’s been doin’ great with the modelin’ gig. I know she can break onto the silver screen by herself, but—“

“Ah, I see.” Akechi looked away, yawning. 

“She could do it herself,” Sakamoto held firm, determination shining in his eyes. “But I figure if there’s anything I could do for her—like puttin’ her in contact with you—she deserves it. She didn’t ask me to do this—she doesn’t even know it’s you I’m on security detail for.”

Akechi looked back to meet Sakamoto’s gaze, expression contemplative. 

“You’d be there to be sure I won’t get mobbed?” Akechi asked. 

Sakamoto’s eyes lit up, a grin splitting his face. “Dude yeah, I can make sure it’s completely hassle-free. No charge, of course—it’s off the clock for me.”

Akechi shrugged. “I suppose it’s not a problem, then. Text me the details, and I’ll be there.”

“Yeah, I’ll even pick you up. It’s the night after tomorrow—I’ll send a reminder. Thanks, dude. I really appreciate it!” Sakamoto clapped him on the shoulder, laughing. 

“I won’t guarantee anything, but I can see how strongly you feel. I’ll put her in touch with some of the people I know, and she can prove to them herself how skilled she is,” Akechi nodded. 

—

After an entire day and a half of sleeping, Akechi found himself lounging in his apartment’s living room, going over his wardrobe options for the evening. Sakamoto had insisted it was low-key with only a dozen or two people at Takamaki’s house, but still...Goro Akechi didn’t show up in any old outfit. After more than an hour of contemplation, he decided to go with a white ensemble and a gray jacket, nodding at himself in the mirror. 

Sakamoto arrived at seven sharp, escorting him from the door and joining him in the back of the car, the driver taking off toward the outskirts of Tokyo. 

“Thanks again for doing this, man. You don’t even gotta stay that long, nobody’ll care,” Sakamoto reassured him for the thousandth time. 

_Oh, they’ll notice and they’ll care, and then they’ll talk and there will be a rumor circulating tomorrow that Takamaki and I have been secretly dating and had a bad breakup which resulted in me leaving the party early._

“I’m sure it will be a good enough time for me to stay a while,” Akechi smiled, patting Ryuji on the arm consolingly. 

“Well, just lemme know when you wanna leave. I’ll make it happen, aight?”

“Thank you, Sakamoto.”

The rest of the ride was filled with Sakamoto’s excited chatter, filling Akechi in on his latest exploits and running times, cracking some terrible jokes that had Akechi chuckling despite himself. 

“Okay dude, we’re here. I kept this on the super down-low, so there shouldn’t be any poparazzi.” Sakamoto opened the door and climbed out first, waiting for Akechi to follow and closed the door behind him. They were at a stately mansion, the perfume of the roses twining around the arches of the doors a pleasant scent as they walked up to the door. Sakamoto knocked loudly, huge grin on his face as it swung inward and revealed a girl with her black hair in a ponytail. Her sleeveless dress showed arms that were quite muscled, Akechi noted with surprise. 

“Hey Ryuji! Come on in, and—“

She cut herself off the moment she saw Akechi, eyes going wide. Akechi smiled, waiting for her to get over herself. 

“I, uh. Hi, Mister Akechi, um. I’m, I’m so sorry, I had no idea you would be here tonight,” she laughed awkwardly, swallowing hard. “Uh, come in, come in! I’ll go tell Ann you’re here!”

She ushered them in and closed the door before hurrying off, leaving Akechi to raise an eyebrow at the other. 

“Hey, if I told Ann it would’ve been public knowledge within the hour. Love the girl, but she can’t keep a secret for shit,” Sakamoto shrugged. 

Akechi sighed, but followed as he was led into the house by Sakamoto’s wave. 

They entered a large reception room where people were milling about, chatting and drinking what looked like champagne. Akechi accepted a flute as a tray went by, while Sakamoto declined. There were several faces Akechi recognized—more than he didn’t, actually, which was somewhat surprising. 

“Hey, Ryuji! Shiho got tipsy early this time! She came over to me spazzing about how you brought Goro Akechi with you, can you believe that?” 

Akechi looked over to the bubbly voice that was unmistakably Ann Takamaki, who had approached Sakamoto from the other side. 

“Yeah, I kinda did. Lookit,” he responded, nodding his head to the side at Akechi. He simply smiled, waiting for a proper introduction. 

“Oh, my god,” she muttered under her breath, freezing for only a half-moment before she stepped forward with a bright smile. “It's so nice to meet you, Mister Akechi! I’m Ann Takamaki, host of this get-together. I’m so sorry, Ryuji didn’t say he was bringing you or I would have greeted you as soon as you arrived!” She held out her hand, which he shook with an amused smile. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Takamaki, and please don’t worry about it. Sakamoto mentioned he was going to a party tonight and I bullied him into inviting me along, so don’t place the blame on him.” Akechi grinned, taking a sip from his glass. 

“I highly doubt that,” Ann laughed, fingers twirling into her long, blonde hair. 

A tall man approached Ann, nodding to him and Ryuji when he stopped. 

“Ann, I require your presence to finish my masterpiece,” he announced rather bluntly. Akechi raised his eyebrows, looking the newcomer up and down over the rim of his glass. 

“Hello, Yusuke. I’m in the middle of something right now, so I’ll be over in a bit, okay?” she asked, and Akechi could hear the strain in her voice. 

Yusuke frowned down at her. “How will I finish if you’re not there?”

“You’ll wait,” she answered, gritting her teeth through her smile. Akechi found himself unreasonably amused. 

“Yusuke, my dude...c’mere, let’s grab a drink while Ann’s busy.” He steered a reluctant Yusuke away, and heard “Dude, she’s the host of the party, chill,” as they trailed away, leaving a flustered Ann in front of him. 

“I’m sorry about him,” she chuckled nervously. “He’s really sweet, but kind of ignorant of social norms.”

“It’s quite alright. He’s an artist, correct?” Akechi narrowed his eyes as he thought about where he had seen that face before. “...Madarame’s apprentice?” he asked. 

“Yeah!” Ann beamed, rising onto her toes in excitement. “He’s amazing. Eccentric, but...well, he’s an artist,” she shrugged, laughing. 

“Yes. I’ve bought from Madarame’s gallery before. He will be a great force in the art world if he takes after his teacher at all,” Akechi smiled. 

Ann nodded in agreement, and seemed at a loss for words, opening her mouth and closing it a few times. 

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here,” Akechi offered after a few moments. “I do apologize for showing up so suddenly. I was under the impression you were aware Sakamoto had invited me.”

“Oh, yeah—I mean, you’re totally welcome here,” Ann added quickly. “I definitely wasn’t expecting a big movie star like you to suddenly be in my house, though. How do you know Ryuji?” she asked, taking a sip of her drink. 

“We know each other through work.” Akechi lifted a finger to his lips, winking. “He runs my security.”

“Oh!” Ann’s mouth rounded with the sound, her big blue eyes wide. Cute, Akechi thought. “I knew he had a big-name client, but I never thought...well, that’s awesome. I hope he didn’t pester you into coming tonight.”

“Not at all. He mentioned you were interested in moving from modeling to acting.”

“He did, did he?” she asked, looking petrified. 

“Please, don’t worry. I’m not inconvenienced by being here,” he assured her. “Sakamoto is great at his job, and a good companion to have through the stresses of my life. If there’s anything I can do to help him, I’m willing to do it. Even if that means helping someone else,” he grinned. “I should be able to put your name in front of the people who make the big decisions.”

Ann’s face lit up, her hands clasping around the stem of her glass. 

“But,” Akechi continued before she could respond, “it will be up to you to land the role. I’m just here to make the introductions.”

“I promise you, that’s more than enough,” Ann nodded, a flush bright on her cheeks. “Thank you so, so much Mister Akechi.”

“Ah...just Goro, please,” he winced. 

“If you’re sure,” she smiled. “You can call me Ann.”

Akechi nodded. “Well, you have a very fine home, Ann. I’m glad I was able to be here tonight.”

“Thank you, me too,” she started, then looked over to the girl with the dark pony tail who walked up to her side. “Oh, and this is my fiancée Shiho Suzui, who you met earlier.”

“It’s very nice to meet you,” she said, bowing her head. “I apologize for my conduct earlier.”

“It’s not an issue,” Akechi said. “I feel like I’ve heard your name before, though.”

“Oh, she’s the star player of the Japanese volleyball team in the Olympics this year!” Ann supplied quickly. 

“Ann,” Shiho admonished, flushing. 

“Wow, you’ve got a house full of big names tonight,” Akechi laughed. 

“Maybe a few,” Ann admitted, grabbing at Shiho’s hand. 

“Well, don’t let me monopolize your time. I’ll be around to chat more later,” Akechi smiled, excusing himself. Ann and Shiho said their goodbyes, before starting a furtive conversation between themselves. Akechi made for a table on the other end of the open room, where a familiar face was seated next to someone else. 

“Oh, hello Goro!”

“Miss Okumura,” Akechi bowed his head in greeting, then turned out of politeness to the other sitting next to her. 

“This is my friend, Akira Kurusu. Akira, this is Goro Akechi—though I’m sure you already knew that,” she giggled.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Akechi responded.

“The pleasure is mine,” Akira responded, nodding his head before taking a sip of his drink.

Akechi held his gaze for a moment before turning back to Okumura, her fluffy hair bouncing with every movement. 

“Might I impose my presence upon you both? I don’t have any ulterior motives, I promise,” he chuckled. 

“Of course, of course,” Okumura smiled. He sat next to her, across from Akira. “So, what brings you to Ann’s party? I wasn’t aware you were acquainted.”

“We weren’t before tonight. I came at the behest of Ryuji Sakamoto, as a friendly favor,” he answered, motioning over another tray of drinks and replacing his with a new, full glass. 

“You know Ryuji?” she asked, eyes wide. “That’s much more unbelievable than Ann!”

“We work together, in a fashion,” Akechi answered. “I’m here to help her break into the world of acting.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Okumura smiled brightly, clapping her gloves hands together. “I know it’s her biggest dream to be an actress!”

“How do you two know each other?” Akira asked. 

The two glanced toward each other and looked away sheepishly, smiling. 

“Well, we were...sort of engaged, at one point,” Okumura answered first, biting down on her lip. 

“Engaged?” Akira asked, surprise in his voice. “I had no idea, Haru. I’m surprised this isn’t big news, considering how high profile you both are.”

“Oh, this was years ago,” she laughed, waving her hand in dismissal. “We were both still in high school.”

“It was a political move on behalf of our parents,” Akechi clarified. “To make a long story short, when we were no longer being pushed together, we decided we would make much better friends than spouses.”

Okumura hummed her agreement, looking at him fondly. “We got up to a lot of mischief in that time, though. I can’t say I miss those days, but I do wish I could see you more often, Goro.”

“And I you,” he responded, clinking the rim of his glass against hers. “But I digress. Suffice to say, Miss Okumura and I are old friends.”

“I see,” Akira nodded. 

“May I turn the question around? How are you two acquainted?”

“He’s my favorite barista,” Okumura answered with a dazzling smile, as though that answered the question completely. 

“I...beg your pardon?” Akechi laughed with bemusement. 

“It’s true,” Akira nodded, keeping his face straight. “Haru visits the cafe I work at on the regular.”

“So you...invited your barista to this party?” Akechi asked slowly, trying not to offend. It did seem like an awfully Haru move, now that he thought about it. 

“Oh, no. He was invited by Ann, of course. We’re all good friends.”

“I...see.” Akechi took a drink, unsure of what to say. 

“Boys, excuse me a second—it looks like Makoto is in need of rescuing. I’ll be right back!” Haru rushed off, one hand lifting the hem of her dress as she walked quickly away. 

Akechi eyed the other silently for a moment, then cocked his head. 

“You’re _really_ a barista?”

“Yep.”

“And that’s all?”

“I do a lot of odd jobs.”

“Do you own the cafe you work at?”

“No, but I do live in the attic.”

“You...excuse me?”

“You're excused.”

Akechi leaned away, surprised and confused and suddenly very frustrated. 

“Are you trying to embarrass me?” he asked, frowning. 

“Not at all. I’m just answering your questions,” Akira responded, raising an eyebrow. 

“Then...forgive me any rudeness, but why are you here?”

“I was invited.”

“But _why?”_

“Friends tend to invite friends to go places, from what I understand.”

“But how do you...you know what, never mind,” Akechi frowned, squeezing his eyes shut. 

“You’re as beautiful in person as you are on screen.”

Akechi coughed, looking up. Akira’s eyes were hidden behind the glare of his glasses, but he could feel the weight of his gaze on him. 

“Beautiful, huh?”

Akira nodded, leaning forward and looking him up and down. Akechi felt goosebumps break out on his body, as though he’d run a finger along his skin and not just his eyes. 

“Very.”

Akechi swallowed, looking away as he felt a flush creep up his neck. 

“Thank you. I guess.”

“You’re welcome.”

Akira stood, circling around the table to stand in front of him. He held out a hand, which Akechi frowned at, before lifting his own to take it. 

“It was a pleasure to meet you, once again,” Akira said lowly, lifting Akechi’s hand to press his lips against the backs of his fingers. 

He slid his hand away, before turning and walking away, nodding to Haru who was hurrying back with another woman in tow. 

She apologized and sat back down, introducing her friend quickly while Akechi only half payed attention. His eyes kept roaming to look for the mysterious man who seemed to have disappeared from the party altogether, as he never did see him again that night.


End file.
